Exploring effectiveness of simulation-based inquiry learning in science with integration of formative assessment

Abstract

This paper presents the effect of simulation-based inquiry (SimIn) integrated with formative assessment (FA) on students' conceptual learning of buoyancy-driven phenomena. In this study, we examined students' conceptual learning performance from two Thai public schools collected in two studies. In order to broaden the scope of the study's method, a two-step experiment was conducted: the first study recruited 120 ninth-grade students who agreed to participate , and they were assigned into two experimental groups and one control group. The control group received only SimIn, without integration of FA; the first experimental group participated with SimIn integrated with FA method of agree and disagree statements (SimIn-FA A&D); and the second experimental group participated with SimIn integrated with FA method of agreement circle (SimIn-FA AC), involving group participation. A multiple-group pretest-posttest experimental design was used, and data were analyzed using one-way ANCOVA, plus a protocol analysis was done to verify the value of the FA integration. The second study compared 39 twelfth-grade students' conceptual understanding scores, and investigated the pattern of, and the quantitative changes in, the process of conceptual change based on a one-group, pretest-posttest method. The result showed that students' conceptual understanding scores were significantly improved after participating in the experimental learning. Moreover, the integration of FA into SimIn produced a better progression of scientific understanding than without FA. This finding suggests that the integration of FA into SimIn can be used to effectively support construction of comprehensive understanding of science concepts in the natural setting of school science learning.